| Abstract: | It was found that the presence of silica in plant materials is the main cause of gold loss during dry ashing at the optimum temperature. A rapid method has been developed for the determination of Au by removing silica with hydrofluoric acid followed by aqua regia leaching and preconcentration with polyurethane foam. Gold was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The method has been applied successfully to determined Au in 17 plant species in the Tuanjiegou region northeastern China. |
